Category Archives: Christianity

Marriage Equality in the United States

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The Christian blogosphere is lit up with Obama’s public support for gay marriage rights in the United States.  My post yesterday was a knee-jerk reaction to hearing the news.  That post is about the biblical definition of marriage, that goes off on a tangent of America not being a “Christian nation.”  This post is more about the news: Obama supports gay marriage rights, some demographics, and speculation about this election year.

Obama coming out in support of what he calls marriage equality comes just a few days after Biden made similar remarks on NBC’s Meet the Press.  Others in his administration were making similar statements and there is speculation that Obama was somewhat pressured into taking a similar stance.  Even if that’s how he already felt personally, this is the strongest statement he has ever made regarding gay and lesbian rights.  We now have an American president that public supports gay and lesbian marriage. Continue reading →

Is It a Sin to Get a Tattoo?

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I was leaving a comment on another blog and it got out of control.  I decided to post instead and link to it.

For a person getting a tattoo to disobey God, there would have to be verse of scripture that says “Do not get a tattoo.” Some would be surprised to find there is no such verse in the Bible.

I know, Leviticus 19:28 says not to get a tattoo. Shame on any Bible translation (and most of them do, sadly including the ESV) that renders any Hebrew word as “tattoo.” That commandment is about cutting, specifically involving a practice of worshiping the dead. You have to consider the context of the command; who God was talking to, the time period, and where they were. The Hebrews were meant to live (act, dress, eat, worship) differently than the many pagan, polytheistic cultures surrounding them. Continue reading →

Our Mission is Not Their Mission

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The Bible tells one story; the Old Testament and the New are both part of that story.  The message of scripture from beginning to end is how a holy God, perfect in righteousness, deals with humanity, which is fallen, broken and unrighteous.  At the center of that story is Jesus.

There is a definite relationship between the old covenant and the new.  I often describe Judaism as a analogy for Christianity.  The Hebrews in the Old Testament are analogous in many ways to Christians of the New Testament.  There are many similarities but we must be clear: the two are not the same.  The Hebrews came out of Egypt on a mission; as Christians we should be on mission.  But our mission is very different from their mission. Continue reading →

Taking a Stand: Sproul, MacArthur

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Ligonier Ministries West Coast Conference will take place in June in Seattle. R.C. Sproul, founder of Ligonier, will lead the event with John MacArthur headlining as well. They will address biblical authority, the resurrection of Jesus and the exclusivity of Christ. Evangelicals will be called upon to take a firm stand against an increasingly hostile culture. Sproul sites the “new atheists” as having more boldness than ever before because they know the culture is already on their side.

“Christians in our day and in our world and in our culture have to disabandon themselves of this idea that we are living in the cradle of a Christian culture,” he said. “We are not. We are living in a culture that is not simply indifferent to the Christian faith but it is actively hostile.”

This is a preview; read the full article here, via Christian Post.

Is Mitt Romney a Christian?

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Is Mitt Romney a Christian?  Are Mormons Christian?

Many others have already posted on this.  Here’s the article that got me thinking.  My issue has less to do with Romney’s faith than with the significance of a candidates faith when considering a president.  But first things first.

Are Mormons Christian?  The short answer is yes, but it comes with a lot of baggage to unpack.  Mormons, who would prefer to be called Latter Day Saints or LDS, read the Bible and believe in Jesus Christ.  Anyone worshiping Christ is a Christian in that sense.  As a believer in Christ, Romney falls in that classification.  But that’s not all Mormons believe. Continue reading →

Leon Brown Responds to Common Objections to the Gospel

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I don’t have a “Watch and Share File” but take a look at this.  Leon Brown wrote an article listing three common objections people have to receiving the Gospel.  In a sit down interview he discusses those objections and lists practical responses.

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I’m listening to Leon Brown and thinking about the ministry of Jesus.  Jesus was not thinking about the number of baptisms he could list or the number of contacts he could report making.  His ministry wasn’t about sheer numbers as much as it was about changing people’s lives; real people that he cared about.  Jesus sometimes argued with religious leaders, but he didn’t really waste a lot of time on them.  He was more likely talking to tax collectors and prostitutes, touching lepers, preaching the Gospel to the poor, or explaining the kingdom to the working class.

There’s a lot of wisdom in the things Leon Brown says, but notice also how he carries himself and the mind set with which he approaches sharing the Gospel.  He is sowing seeds rather than trying to win a debate about how everyone else is wrong.  This is some of the most practical apologetics I’ve heard in a long time.  Let me blunt:

We should all listen to this guy and share the Gospel the way he does.

*I’m not the first blogger to link this.  Props to Paul Wilkinson and the Wednesday Link List.

The Read and Share File

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This is Read and Share File #10.

James said to be doers of the Word and not hearers only.  Paul Wilkinson reports on on blogging vs. doing.

The purpose of sharing what I read is that some things are said better than I could have.  Carley Evans at Grace Partakers has this to say about Growing Into Christ.  And says it well.

2 Timothy 4:3 describes a time when people will no longer endure sound teaching; sound doctrine in the King James.  Reformed Baptist Fellowship has done an excellent job with this post, and a few other bloggers have already linked to it.  All I can add is to say that Paul told us so.

And now for something completely different.

So much of God’s wisdom and Christ’s love cannot be expressed because of the limitations of the English language and our own finite minds.  Scripture relies on analogy, metaphor, symbolism, parables, and… poetry.  David was a lyricist and musician, and his son Solomon had a knack for prose himself.  Moses claimed to be slow of tongue, but at least twice he led the Hebrews in song.  Sometimes we don’t know how to pray or what to pray, but we are told to pray without ceasing.  At times we groan in the Spirit.  Most of what I share on this site is based on scriptural teaching and preaching, but as beings created in God’s image one  of his many gifts is creativity.  Some people think in poetry rather than paragraphs.  Captive Free is always in the blogroll; please read Little Lost Girl by Garment of Praise.  

Theater as a Metaphor for Life

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When I say theater I mean actors on a stage.  Watching a movie in a crowded room with a sticky floor is not the metaphor for life I’m thinking of.  

Imagine sitting down to watch a play.  The set looks great.  The costumes are wonderful.  It becomes clear very quickly that the actors have put in the time rehearsing scenes and memorizing lines.  But there is so much more going on that you – the spectator, the audience – do not see.  Backstage there are props and furniture pieces that haven’t come out yet.  There are people scurrying around in quiet darkness so as not to be seen or heard from the house.  There are people in the wings changing costumes and make up, and others in the booth controlling lights and sound.  The director may be sitting in the audience unnoticed while the stage manager runs around making sure everything happens that should happen.  During a scene with two people sharing a dialog, there could be 30 others working frantically on whatever is about to happen next.  If all goes well, what the audience sees is only what they mean for you to see. Continue reading →

Glorious Day!

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It is a glorious day.  Celebrate the Resurrection!

The tomb is empty.  Death, hell and the grave have been conquered, what more do we really have to fear after that?  Paul wrote that if we die with Christ we will also be raised with him.  Happy Easter.

Prophetic Words: An Easter Sermon

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Genesis 22 tells the story of the sacrifice of Issac.  Well, Isaac wasn’t really sacrificed but it was a close call.  The point of the story is that Abraham was willing to sacrifice his son, thus passing his test of faith.  As they were going up the mountain, Isaac notices they have wood and fire and actually asks his dad about not having a lamb.  Abraham says “God will provide himself the lamb.”  (Gen 22:8)  After he was stopped – at the last possible moment – from sacrificing his son, he saw a ram caught by the horns in a thicket.  That lamb was slain as an offering of thanksgiving.  But did Abraham really know?  He reasoned that Isaac’s birth had itself been a miracle, and if God chose he could restore Isaac to life.  Now think about Jesus on the cross, the lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.  Recall Abraham’s words: God will provide himself the lamb.  Truer words were never spoken. Continue reading →